Growing Native Has Grown!

When growing native wildflowers it is said first they sleep, then they
creep, then they leap. This refers to their habit of spending the first
few years growing roots before they grow shoots. The Growing Native
program has followed this pattern of growth as well.

Growing Native is a program
of the Potomac
Conservancy. The main purpose of Growing Native is to engage
volunteer effort to collect tree seeds for state nurseries and others to
grow into new trees—trees that will improve and protect water quality in
the Potomac and Chesapeake Bay.

Growing Native started in 2001 and collected about 26,000 pounds of seed
in the first two years throughout the Potomac River watershed. By 2006,
the collection had almost doubled—to 23,000 pounds per year.

In Fairfax County,
seed collection during the first few years was in the hundreds of pounds.
In 2006, volunteers collected 1,000 pounds of seed; the program, like
wildflowers, was beginning to creep. In 2007, seed collection leaped to
over 5,000 pounds, which will translate into nearly 400,000 trees.

Originally, all seeds collected by the Growing Native program were
transferred to the Virginia and Maryland State nurseries, but in recent
years schools and other cooperators have received seed to grow and plant
locally.

Growing Native is a
fun group conservation project, and now is the time to start planning for
your participation next year. Go to the program web site to find out which
species’ seeds are being collected, and start scouting for seed trees.
Growing Native requires that each collection bag contains only one type
of seed, so the best seed trees grow in the open by themselves where the
seeds won’t get mixed. If you don’t own the tree, you will have to get
permission from the owner to collect the seed even on public land. Do not
collect in National Parks or natural areas.

Be careful about the bags you use to store your seed. Tree seeds have
water in them and they sweat. If they are sealed in plastic bags, the
seeds will get wet and mold and be ruined. Even plastic grocery bags can
ruin seeds. Growing Native provides bags at its drop-off stations, but
sometimes you must improvise. The best bags are the open weave bags that
onions and potatoes come in or burlap. If you plan on using your own
bags, start saving them now so you’ll have plenty when you start
collecting seeds.

For more information about Growing Native, the value of trees in the
environment or ideas for service projects, visit the program web site or contact your
local Virginia Department of
Forestry office. In Fairfax and Arlington, call Jim McGlone at
703-324-1489, TTY 711.